


The Shadow

by TalonDick



Series: Twitter RP Solos [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Nightwing (Comics), Teen Titans (Comics), Titans (Comics)
Genre: Character Study, From Dick’s POV, Gen, One Shot, Others Are Referenced - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-04-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:42:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23588596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TalonDick/pseuds/TalonDick
Summary: Why did Dick move to Manhattan?Perhaps he’s found one true answer. But with that comes another question.
Series: Twitter RP Solos [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1299803
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	The Shadow

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again everyone!
> 
> It’s been an entire YEAR but I finally have something else to post.
> 
> While this one shot serves a purpose of providing Nightwing with character growth and development, it also works as a study for how both fandom and DC have been treating him in recent years.
> 
> Enjoy!

It's not quite midnight yet, but the full moon shines down upon New York City all the same.

Dick watches the moving traffic from his perched position in silence. Mesmerized by the lights, and lost within his thoughts. There have been many things on his mind lately.

A rush of cool wind sweeps through his hair, and a lone hand runs to push it back. Fidgeting.

He’s been in Manhattan for about a month and a half now. Why did he move? This is one question he has multiple answers for, but none of them are quite solid.

For a breath of fresh air. For a change of scenery. For a new atmosphere. For a wave of nostalgia.

But it feels like... there’s something else.

And he hasn’t quite put his finger on it yet.

A siren, most likely belonging to the top of a police cruiser, sounds off in the distance. He doesn’t notice it yet. Instead still transfixed on the people below him.

Before this, Dick ponders, it was Blüdhaven.

Now, he has to be honest with himself. His early stay in the Haven had its ups and downs. But given his overall struggles at the time, it’d been perfect for providing him with a certain productivity lift. 

As time had dragged on, though, he felt lost there. Uncomfortable. 

Why? Why, when it did so much for him?

Maybe because by the end of it, he wasn’t really living there at all.

Instead there was a cycle. Being called to Gotham every other day, or finding himself there on his own, it didn’t really matter. The end results were the same. He’d do what was asked of him— patrol, help with a threat, or simply check in with Bruce.

Being dragged into the city’s drama was something that he’d become desensitized to. Despite having once been repulsed, slowly but surely it became a normal part of his life again. If anything, existence without it felt odd and uneventful.

And then it’d be back to Blüdhaven. Spending his time beating into thugs or crossing wannabe villains until the steps repeated.

Only a pastime waiting for Gotham to summon him again.

The realization strikes him strangely, since he’s always been one to value his growth and independence. In the course of his life he’s known many people— but always made it a point to be his own person.

The Titans helped him to conclude that about himself. Arguably, they even defined him. And it was good for him. Really, it was. Had they not been in his life, where would he be now?

He was more than just a vigilante. He was Nightwing. A detective, a leader, a hero. A man who stood on his own. Someone who mattered to the people of New York. Someone he was proud of being. 

It now seems to him like he’s regressed.

An asset. A member of the ‘Batfamily’, as people have said. One of Gotham’s many protectors. He’s even heard on the street that people will mix him up with the others.

Though he can see why. To the public now, they’re all only extensions of Bruce.

Finally, the approaching siren manages to snap him out of his trance. He shakes his head, determined, before shooting off a grapple and swinging after the car.

Even now, trying to reforge himself, he falls victim to this nightly habit of patrol.

Why did Dick move to Manhattan?

Perhaps he’s found one true answer. But with that comes another question.

The main driving force behind his becoming Nightwing was to forge a unique identity. To escape the shadow of the Bat.

Just how did he end up becoming a bat himself?


End file.
